


Feel The Burn

by Johnnyghoul



Category: DCU (Comics), Justice League International (Comics)
Genre: Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Trans Male Character, and a whole lot of 80s music, mentioned transphobia, rest of the character cameos will be in the notes, two of them acutally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 12:50:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15729756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johnnyghoul/pseuds/Johnnyghoul
Summary: After months of struggling to find a deal with his new manager, Booster finally gets a sponsorship—as an aerobics instructor.  Unfortunately for Ted, he can't say no when he gets dragged along.Originally this was to fill this prompt: "in which ted’s pretty sure that step 7 out of “booster gold’s 10 step exercise program” wasn’t falling in love with his best friend"But now it's more like: "Booster wears hotpants and Ted has a existential crisis over it."





	Feel The Burn

**Author's Note:**

> Some backstory:  
> Okay! This fic...sorta isn't relating to actual canon. I have my own headcanons as to why/how Dirk (Boosters 1st manager) screwed him over and took his money. This fic takes place after Booster loses his house and company. Booster has moved into the guest room at Ted's penthouse in the meantime. 
> 
> Time accurate transphobia and homophobia are mentioned, this story takes place in the 80s like most of the JLI comics do. Both Ted and Booster are trans men.
> 
> Cameo characters:  
> -Batman, Music Meister, Riddler, Bea, Tora, Max, Sue, Ralph, Guy
> 
> Remember to tell me what you thought! :]

This was not how Ted expected to spend his afternoon. 

 

Earlier, Ted was working on fixing one of the apartment’s fire alarms.  While he was out of town on a business trip-turned-superhero mission, Booster somehow managed to break it. Something about how it wouldn’t stop beeping one night and Booster couldn’t figure out “this century’s outdated tech.”

Booster had come up to him, exuberant about a bunch of endorsements he had gained. Ted had drowned him out for the most part, humming in acknowledgement, as he continued to work on rewiring the apartments fire alarm.  He was used to Booster talking about his next big “break-through” in the “industry”. Sharing an apartment made it sort of hard to escape. 

 

Fortunately for Booster, he seemed to have gotten a deal that he was enthusiastic about. 

 

“Aerobics!” Booster beamed. “I get to instruct this class to help people better themselves!” He stood proud and flashed his trademark Booster Gold smile.

 

Ted frowned and stopped working to lean his head on his fist and look at Booster.  “You mean you get to exploit people's insecurities to the tune of ABBA?” He snorted and cocked a brow at Booster.

 

“Listen, that’s not the slogan my new manager is going with,” Booster shrugged defensively.  “Plus, I’m not doing any harm if all I do is help people have fun! And what’s more fun than watching Booster Gold himself dance in short-shorts?” Booster laughed, grabbing ahold of Ted’s shoulders and shaking him with excitement. 

 

Ted grabbed the table to stabilize himself.  Once the blond stopped giving him whiplash, Ted looked up at him.  “I don’t know, that does seem pretty funny to watch.” Ted joked and laughed when Booster rolled his eyes in response. 

 

“Anyways, so you’re going to come with me to my first class right?” Booster asked and Teds smile immediately turned into a expression of fear. 

 

Unfortunately for Ted, he couldn’t say no to Booster.  

 

So, now he was sitting in the back of a studio, back against the wall and watching Booster lead a workout routine.  He had refused to join the actual class. Instead he told Booster he would watch his bag while he led the group.

 

It was so much worse than he expected — Booster wasn’t just wearing obscenely short shorts, he was also wearing a crop top, leg and arm warmers, and a headband. 

 

Ted had expected it to be funny, but when Booster had changed in the locker room and walked out, Ted knew he was in deep trouble.  Sure it was ridiculous, but Booster managed to make it look ridiculously good. Booster had a knack for turning the most gaudy things attractive. Shiny gold spandex, for example. 

 

Booster was currently leading the group in jumping jacks to Donna Summers’  _ “Hot Stuff”  _ playing over the boombox, and Ted couldn’t take his eyes off him. 

 

It wasn’t that Ted had never stared at Booster before.  Quite the opposite actually. Ted always caught himself staring at his best friend after he’d accomplish some amazing feat in the battlefield or on boring patrols when Booster would keep himself warmed up with stretches.  But this was something else. 

 

Booster wasn’t covered up by his shining gold suit and they weren’t on the hunt for any criminals. Instead, Booster was golden and glistening with sweat as he did goofy dance moves.  How the hell did the guy look good even while sweating and making a fool of himself? 

 

Well, maybe he wasn’t embarrassing himself —Ted glanced over at a few of the ladies in the class who were practically swooning over the guy.  

 

Booster caught Ted staring and grinned, punctuating one of his poses with a wink in Ted’s direction.

 

Ted quickly looked away.  Great, that was embarrassing!

 

The rest of the session Ted busied himself with burning a hole into the floor with his eyes.

* * *

 

“Goodnight, ladies!- Oh! And fellas!” Booster beamed, waving as everyone left for the night.  “Remember, when you need a  _ boost _ in confidence, you can rely on  _ BOOST _ ergold!” 

Booster sighed as the last person walked out. “You know, I told them that was a bad slogan.” he said while turning to Ted, who was holding out a coat.

“Yeah, like you could have come up with something better. Here, put this on,” Ted smiled and pushed the coat into Boosters arms.“I don’t want anybody throwing dollars at us on the corner.” He said motioning to the others’ short shorts and cropped tee. 

Booster shrugged the coat on. “ _ Us _ ? Buddy, that money would be all mine.  Not yours.” 

Ted let out a hearty laugh and pushed Booster towards the exit. “C’mon, I’ll buy us a cab.” 

Ted hailed a cab and opened the door for Booster, sliding in beside him. “Uh, Kord Tow-” 

“LISTEN, you’ll get there. Got it?” The cab driver said, effectively cutting him off.

“I- uh- okay.” Ted scrambled as the driver turned the radio up to drown him out. He gave up and slumped back into the seat.

Next to him Booster chuckled softly, leaning his head on Teds shoulder.  “People in this era are so polite.” He whispered sarcastically. 

Ted let out a snort of air at that.  Then it was just the radio and the warmth of Boosters head on his shoulder.  It was too dark to see much, but glancing down Ted caught glimpses of Boosters golden lashes as the cab passed street lights and signs. 

His mind wandered in the dark.  Booster looked like a movie-star, perfect in so many ways.  He reminded Ted of when he’d watch Gene Kelly dance on tv when he was younger— the perfect smile and confidence Ted found himself drawn to.

Ted’s cheeks burned as he shook himself from his thoughts.  No—he wasn’t supposed to think about that. Softly he elbowed Booster in the ribs.

“Ow!” Booster exclaimed, over-dramatic as usual, and sat up.

“Sorry man, you reek.” Ted complained, waving a hand over his nose in mock disgust.  It wasn’t entirely a lie. 

Booster laughed and leant on the cabs door  “Says you, stink bug.”

  
  


The rest of the cab ride was uneventful, with the exception of the driver overcharging Ted because he spoke over his favorite part of Phil Collins’ “ _ Easy Lover” _ .  Whatever, it wasn’t like Ted couldn’t afford it anyways.

“I’m hitting the shower.” Booster yawned, stretching his arms above his head as they entered the penthouse.  

Ted made a sound of acknowledgement and watched Booster disappear into the bathroom down the hall. 

Quickly, Ted left a note on the kitchen counter saying he was going on patrol as Beetle and left. 

* * *

The night was extraordinarily boring, which wasn’t helping Ted keep his mind off Booster.   Apparently Chicago wasn’t feeling up to crime tonight. Besides a few minor thefts and disputes, nothing really had happened.  

He was sat in the pilot seat of the bug, idly moving the chair with his foot planted on the floor, and toying with his BB-gun.

Ted decided to try the comms and see what his teammates were up to to try to pass the time.  He tried Bruce first.

“I’m BUSY, Beetle! What is it?” Batman’s voice crackled over the comm, sounding winded and maybe slightly frustrated.  It was really hard to tell with a guy like Bruce. 

Ted fiddled with his BB-gun while he spoke. “Oh, I don’t know, I was just wondering if we could go crush some criminals together or something tonight?” he asked meekly.  

There were the telltale sounds of a fight on Batman’s end of the line, with what seemed to be music playing in the background—No, it was someone singing what sounded like showtunes. 

“Beetle—half of Gotham is under hypnosis right now — I’m  **_very_ ** busy.”  Bruce growled before a thwack of metal followed by a bark of laughter punctuated his sentence. 

“Is it the Joker?” Ted questioned, intrigued by the drama coming from the other end. 

“RIDDLER!” Bruce roared at the person in question.

So that answered that. “You’re fighting the Riddler?  Without little ol’ me? Don’t you want some help?” Ted pleaded.

“It’s a double act and I’ve  **_got it_ ** \- No!-” Batman cut out and Ted was met with static buzzing in his ear. 

So then he tried to contact Bea, who promptly said she was busy and hung up.  Tora wasn’t any luck either. They sounded like they were at the same club, having fun while Ted sat bored in his ridiculous sky vehicle.  He didn’t blame them though, they deserved to get away from the dude-fest that was the Justice League sometimes.

Max didn’t answer, Sue and Ralph were having their weekly date night, and like hell he was going to try to call Guy right now.  

“Ugh, there goes that plan.” Ted threw himself back in his seat in frustration and wiped his hands over his face.  

Now it was just him and his thoughts, exactly what he was trying to avoid.

Ted had always struggled with inner-turmoil when it came to defying societal standards.  His anxiety disorder was never a help with that either. Even going all the way back to his childhood, back when his name was different and he wore the wrong clothes.  

Ted started to wear ‘boy’ clothes instead of what was expected of him and changed his name, but back then he had his mother to defend him from the disapproval of his father.

His mom always encouraged him to be himself.  She had held him when he was shoved into a ditch on the playground, she fixed his glasses when the other kids broke them, and wiped his tears when he got too overwhelmed. 

When his mom died, things changed.  His father grew bitterly cold towards him. The encouragement to be himself was gone and his father’s resentment had replaced it. 

Suddenly, an alert came over The Bugs radar.  Ted roughly wiped his eyes and sat up in his seat. 

Someone picked the wrong night to break into Chicago's Conservatory. 

* * *

_ “Can..anybody...find me...somebody to...love.” _

Ted groaned as music drifted into his room and disrupted his semi-peaceful dreaming. Booster must be awake.  Great. 

Ted had gotten home around five in the morning, and was exhausted from brawling with mutated plants controlled by some Poison Ivy wannabe. 

When the music continued relentlessly, Ted cracked an eye open. Sunlight was shining directly into his face, causing him to quickly sit up and rub at his eye.  “Ow…” He grumbled to himself.

He sluggishly slid out of bed, picked up his yellow tinted photophobia glasses off the nightstand, and put them on then continued to throw on some casual clothes. 

Leaving his room, Ted followed the source of the music, he paused and observed the scene before him.

Booster was dancing around the kitchen to the sound of Queen’s  _ “Somebody To Love”   _ in denim shorts and a old t-shirt.

_ “ _ _ Please! Can anybody find me somebody to love.” _

Booster spun on a note and greeted Ted with one of the brightest smiles Ted had ever seen. 

_ “Everyday...I try and I try and I try!” _

Booster pointed at Ted, dramatically mouthing the words and stepping towards him.

_ “But everybody wants to put me down!  They say I’m going crazy,” _

Suddenly Booster linked his index fingers into the belt loops of Ted’s pants and pulled him closer.  Dangerously close. Close enough that Ted could see specks of gold in Booster’s eyes. 

Then they were spinning in rhythm with the cheers within the song and Ted was laughing along with Booster.  Booster let go of his hold on him and shuffled over to the stove-top, whistling along with the song as he did.  Ted leant back on the counter and watched. He felt dizzy, but something told him it wasn’t because of the spinning. 

Ted loved mornings like this.  Booster woke up early most days and tried his best to make a healthy breakfast out of the scraps in Teds fridge.  Ted made a mental note to take Booster grocery shopping.

His best friend hadn't been staying at his place for long, but Ted felt like he belonged. He could imagine spending the rest of his mornings exactly like this. 

Ted caught himself in his thoughts as the song came to an end and bit the inside of his cheek to repress it.  

“Goooooood morning, love birds!-” The radios DJ started enthusiastically before Ted quickly twisted the radios dial, turning it off.

“Hey!” Booster pouted.“I was listening to that.”

Ted cleared his throat, “Sorry, I’m not in the mood for music right now.” He said, idly thumbing at some loose molding on the kitchen counter.

“Is it ‘cause you were out all last night?” Booster glanced over his shoulder at him. 

“Uhm...Yeah, had an encounter with some wacko.”  Ted went along with it, easier to blame villainy on his dampened mood than admit his inner turmoil. 

“Wacko?”  Booster chuckled and carefully flipped a pancake in the pan. Ted heard him whisper a celebratory “yes!” under his breath when it landed in the pan instead of on the floor.  “You shoulda called me! Blue an’ gold woulda made fast work of that chump!- Uh, probably.” he said.

“I had it handled...plus you were exhausted from your goofy dance class.” Ted said crossing his arms.

Booster moved to place the finished pancakes on a plate, picking the plate up as he stepped over to Ted.  “Aw, you  _ do _ care.” He cooed. 

“Oh, bite me.” Ted retorted.

Booster laughed “C’mon man, let’s eat.”

* * *

The next few weeks were more of the same.

Booster would make breakfast, Ted would go to work, maybe they’d kick some ass together, then on Tuesday and Thursday nights Booster would lead an aerobics class.  Ted was dragged along every time. Even when he was at work Booster found ways to drop by and visit him, bringing him lunch or just to chat. It was all making it incredibly difficult for Ted to keep his mind off the topic of Booster.   

Booster was just too endearing and too easy to fall for.

So, he tried his best to push the ever-present feeling in his chest down and keep living his life the way it was.  Unfortunately, Ted couldn’t stop the thoughts of Booster’s sublime body from sneaking into his mind when he laid in bed at night.  

Ted laid on his back, glaring up at his ceiling fan. 

Dammit, why did Booster have to have such toned thighs and arms?  Why did he have to wear shorts that framed his ass perfectly? Why was his smile so captivating and his personality so  immaculate and.... why did he look at Ted like  _ he _ was perfect too? 

Teds face burned red hot, he groaned and rolled over to scream in frustration into his pillow.

* * *

Ted tried a different approach.  Instead of going everywhere with Booster he would distance himself a bit.  That was a feat easier said than done.

“Teeeed.” Booster whined, practically throwing himself over Ted as he tried to write down upgrades for the Bug.  “We haven’t done anything in weeks!”

“Boost, I’m busy.” Ted sighed in frustration.

Booster moved to sit on the table Ted was working at, effectively being a huge distraction to his work. “That’s what you’ve said every time I’ve asked you to go have some fun!” He pouted.

Ted lowered his head and tried his best to ignore the large golden  disturbance.  Sadly, Booster never knew when to shut up.  

“Oh, I know!  You can come with me and actually  _ join _ my class!”  Booster declared as if it were the best damn idea since sliced bread.  “Doesn’t that sound fun?” 

Booster gently shoved Ted’s shoulder and something in Ted’s nerves snapped. 

“No! Booster, no I  **_don’t_ ** think that would be fun.  I think that would be horrible actually.”  Ted fumed. Instantly, he regretted it because he looked up and saw Booster looking at him with an expression of hurt all over his face.

“I…” Ted began but Booster raised a hand of wave it off. 

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Booster said, and looked away.

Ted awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck.  Great, now he was an asshole.

“Hey,” Ted touched Boosters arm to get his attention “we  _ are _ still up for movie night this weekend.” He continued once Booster decided to look at him again.

Boosters face lit up.  “Great!” He beamed. “I call dibs on the movie.” Booster teased. 

* * *

It was movie night and Booster had chosen a musical out of Ted’s VHS collection.  It was one of Ted’s newer favorites,  _ “Little Shop of Horrors” _ .

The lead couple was in the middle of a duet.  Ted glanced at Booster, who seemed thoroughly captivated in the scene clutching a throw pillow to his chest. 

Ted turned his attention back to the movie. 

A helpless nerd and a beauty who was down on their luck.  What a familiar concept, Ted thought to himself. If only life was as easy as a musical.  Maybe then he could sweep his friend off his feet and everything would be okay —Uh, preferably minus the ending where killer plants take over the world. 

He allowed himself a moment to imagine Booster and himself in the scene, serenading each other.  It was cheesy but Ted couldn’t help but blush at the idea. 

The butterflies Ted felt might as well have been moths eating away at his nerves. 

He wasn’t quite sure why he was so worried, Booster was from the future.  Things are probably better in the future for people like Ted...right? 

Booster himself had recently learned how harsh this time can be towards people like them. Hell, the whole reason he was living in Ted’s apartment was because Booster’s manager screwed him over.  The world knew Booster Gold was transgender, and that small thing lost him almost all notoriety in their eyes.

It wasn’t even four months ago that Booster came running to Ted’s penthouse and into his arms to tell him what had happened.  It was heartbreaking to see his best friend in that state.  Ted felt extremely sympathetic towards him, being a trans man too, he’d had nightmares of that very situation.

Booster could trust him, and he could trust Booster. 

He couldn’t imagine Booster would stop being his friend over Ted liking men, but what about Ted having more than friendly thoughts about him?

What if Booster didn’t like men?  Or even worse, what if he did like men but he didn’t like Ted?  Ted admitted to himself that he likely wasn’t the devilishly handsome man he’d imagine Booster going for —not that he had thought of that before. 

“Wow…” Booster said “She’s a lucky gal.” 

Ted let a puff of air out his nose. “Yeah, like  _ you _ would think some loser like that’s a catch.” he mumbled. 

Unfortunately, Ted’s remark didn’t go unnoticed.

“Hey man, what’s your problem?” Booster asked, suddenly twisting his body on the couch to face him. 

“You’ve been acting….weird all month! Especially towards me!”  Booster exclaimed when Ted rolled his eyes at his question.

Ted really didn’t want to have this conversation right now.  It wasn’t bad enough that he was already feeling sick to his stomach.

“I’m not acting weird.” Ted snipped.

Booster catapulted off the couch to point an accusing finger at Ted.  “Yes you have! You’ve been avoiding me like I’ve got Mars-Pox!” he shouted. “What did I do to you?” 

This wasn’t good.  Ted was being put on the spot and exactly what he was scared of was happening.  Ted stood and Booster stepped back. Tension filled the room.

“Booster, drop it.” Ted demanded.

“No!” Booster retorted “I’m not going to drop it until you tell me what’s up with you.” 

Ted’s chest tightened and he felt panic rising.  He couldn’t lie, Booster would know. Booster made a sound of frustration at Teds silence and his mouth went dry.  Before Booster could speak again, Ted’s impulse overruled his fear. 

“I like dudes!- I’m bisexual or whatever the hell you guys call it in the future! THERE!” Ted blurted out, bordering a mental break.

Booster stood for a moment, narrowing his eyes at Ted with his mouth slightly agape.  Ted’s throat tightened but Booster cut him off before he could open his mouth to explain himself.

Booster threw his arms up in a motion of confusion. “So?” He said as if Ted had just told him a casual fact instead of the huge secret he’s been hiding since he was in college.  “What’s that got to do with why you’re being such a dick- mph!” 

Without thinking, Ted rushed forward and pressed his lips against Booster’s taking him by surprise.  

Booster was taken by surprise — but soon brought his hands up to cup Ted’s face, tilting his head and deepening the kiss. 

  
  


“Not just...any man,” Ted said, breaking from the kiss to catch his breath “it’s you. I like you.”

Boosters lips were slightly parted and his breathing was uneven.  “Ted…” He pursed his lips and there was a small crease of confusion in his brow “I’ve been flirting with you for months.” He drew out as if Ted were a fool —and he was. 

Oh, in retrospect that made sense.  The closeness, the breakfasts, the winks while he was dancing.  Ted was a damn  buffoon.  He almost wished he could steal a time machine himself just to smack his past self. 

“Oh...So you’re hot for me and you didn’t tell me?” Ted asked.

“You’re a genius — I thought you could figure it out.” Booster teased.

“Well I’m sure as hell glad I said something, or we would have been tip-toeing around each other for years at that rate.”  Ted smirked and pulled Booster closer to himself.

Booster rested his forehead against Teds and returned his smirk in kind.  “Yeah, me too.” He whispered in the air between them before throwing his weight onto Ted and tackling him back onto the couch.  

* * *

The next morning Ted woke with Booster tangled up in his sheets with him.  Their clothes lay strewn all over the floor. Ted smiled and rolled onto his side to gaze at the sleeping beauty.

Booster looked so peaceful when he slept; Ted had shared a bed with him before but never like last night.  Booster looked perfectly disheveled —his  golden curls were tousled and his soft lips were parted slightly. 

Carefully, Ted reached up to cup Booster’s cheek, rubbing his thumb over his soft skin.  That seemed enough to disturb the golden hero from his slumber, because his brow creased and his nose crunched up.

“Mm, your breath stinks…” Booster grumbled, clumsily pushing Ted’s face away with his hand. 

Ted laughed and grabbed his wrist, planting a kiss on his palm.  “Morning.” He said against the skin.

Booster smirked and peaked an eye open “Morning, Teddy.” He replied, removing his hand from Ted’s grip to rest it on his chest. 

They laid in silence for a moment, just enjoying the peace of each others presence and sharing gentle touches.

“This changes things.” Ted whispered.

“Not really.” Booster replied. 

Booster sat up to lean over him, smiling down at Ted as if he held the universe in his hands.   He rubbed his hand over the hair on Ted’s chest, earning a hum of contentment. 

“We’ll still get up every morning, make breakfast, we’ll go about our days together and still have movie night every saturday.”  Booster said.

“Hm...and what about those nights you bounce around in hot-pants, will we still have those?”  Ted grinned.

Booster tapped a finger on his chin in thought. “Let me think...maybe, but only if you’re good and earn it.  Then I’ll invite you to come watch me again.” He teased.

“I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior then.” Ted smiled as Booster leant down to give him a slow and lazy kiss. 

Things would change and they both knew it, but those changes were for the better in the end.  Ted was more comfortable around his best friend than he ever was before. Plus the sex was a bonus.

While Booster still taught aerobics every Tuesday and Thursday, he always made time afterwards to give Ted private lessons.  

Maybe aerobics wasn’t so bad after all. 


End file.
